Being Assertive Is a Life Skill

Being Assertive is a Life Skill

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There are so many reasons that you should send you entire staff complement on assertiveness skills training that I am not sure where to begin. Being assertive and being able to use these skills comfortably and confidently on a daily basis, improve the individuals quality of life tenfold. Not even to mention how an assertive individual gets to benefit the organisation they work for.

Firstly lets dispel some myths. Being assertive is not only for managers, being assertive is a life skill that applies to everyone.

Let’s use the example of a receptionist that is not assertive enough to point out that she is not allowed to give out cellphone numbers, and merrily gives in every time a caller insists. Imagine a receptionist not being assertive enough to stop a long-winded caller from keeping her on the phone for 30 minutes.

There is a second misconception that mostly woman need to be more assertive. The fact is assertiveness skills training pertains to both genders. Yes we have a certain cultural leaning towards a male dominant society, but that does not mean that men are naturally assertive. We have all met men who find themselves unable to stand up to dominant wives, bosses and bullies.

Assertiveness skills training is paramount to negotiation skills training as well. The reason is simple. When being in any form of conflict, whether in a sales negotiation or in a labour related conflict situation, we have to be able to stand our ground. Assertiveness skills training, empowers us to do so.

We will also often find that many good sales people need to be more assertive to ensure the best deal not only for the client but for their own company as well. It is our experience that less experienced sales people will fold under the pressure of time demands or the possibility of “losing” the client should the client make “noises” about finding other suppliers. This puts pressure on the entire organisation.

Not being assertive is simply not an option. In fact I personally believe that many of our child rearing issues today come from parents who cannot take on the role of parenting as they are simply not assertive enough. Being assertive is critical to our functioning as productive human beings in good flourishing relationships.

Assertiveness skills training is also one of those things that is a bit like motivation. You need to work at it continually, empowering yourself on an ongoing basis. So take the step to empower yourself and your staff today. Also know that being aggressive is very much a case of being unassertive.

It so happens that in many cases we can become aggressive as a result of not having our boundaries respected. The fact is had we been more assertive originally, we would be less likely to go over to aggression as we would have been “heard”

Many people don’t want to be more assertive as they see being assertive as being pushy and in your face, this is incorrect. One of the most assertive young ladies I have met is not yet 22. I met her at a receptionist workshop. She has an ability to get her point across clearly and simply and she speaks softly enough that you need to clear your mind to listen.

Because she intrigued me I asked her whether she thought she was assertive and she said that she has found that people tend to listen when she speaks. When I asked her why she thought that was, she simply said, “Because I don’t speak much or often, I try to speak only my truth as I see it, it is a trick my dad taught me” And in those few words, I recognised an extremely assertive young person who falls squarely into an introvert personality category.

So believe me, when we do assertiveness training it is not to change who you are, but to change how you are being heard. You will agree with me that it is common for someone to say, “Gosh, when you actually sit and speak to that person they are so exciting and not boring at all” or “you know if only management would listen to us, we could fix this problem in a jiffy” or “ I don’t know what else to do to get ABC person to understand how serious I am about this matter”

So with assertiveness skills training workshops, we address these issues and everyday laments one at a time. We encourage assertiveness, we empower those who attend with the communications skills and the knowledge and thereafter we sit back and watch them grow in stature and flourish in their careers. When we meet them sometimes years later, it is extremely gratifying to hear the stories of success and also their practical challenges and how they addressed and overcame the issues…all of which get passed on to you and your staff, the next time we meet you.

And quite frankly, wouldn’t this be a better world if even the meek reach their full potential and not go to their graves with their music still inside them.

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This document was compiled by Staff Training

www.StaffTraining.co.za | +27 21 839 3021 |